Christie's to appraise Detroit museum collection

By COREY WILLIAMS, Associated Press

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

DETROIT (AP) — Christie’s Appraisals says it has agreed to appraise some city-owned pieces in the Detroit Institute of Arts.

The New York-based International auction house said in a release Monday that it was asked to do the appraisals and will “assist and advise on how to realize value for the city while leaving the art in the city’s ownership.”

The museum says in a statement that it will cooperate in the process.

State-appointed emergency manager Kevyn Orr has said artwork in the museum could be at risk as he pushes Detroit into the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. A federal judge is considering his July 18 filing.

Orr says the art valuations are a necessary part of the debt restructuring and don’t “portent a sale of any asset.”